The Phoenix Suns don't have a ton of "what ifs?" from their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but it has been disappointing that center Mark Williams has failed to appear.
A foot injury holding him out of the action to this point, and that looks set to continue as the Suns face elimination on Monday.
Williams ruled out of Game 4 and with it rest of Suns' season
It should come as no surprise to find out Williams won't play in what is likely the Suns' final game of the season, but it sure does bring with it more questions than answers.
Williams would have been excellent to combat the size the Thunder possess across the court, which is why rookie Khaman Maluach has seen so much action.
That could have done wonders both for his standing in The Valley but also negotiating his contract extension this offseason, but instead it is the injury history that the organization will remember.
This was easily Williams' most healthy and productive campaign since coming into the league, yet he was still not around when needed the most.
The idea of letting him walk also doesn't work as Phoenix gave away a pair of first round picks to acquire him last summer.
That would be one expensive rental who was at his best during a point in the season when he didn't need to be.
There is another way of looking at this however, although it is one that works purely from the perspective of the franchise.
You can be sure that the Suns will now put stipulations in his next deal that he must hit to trigger payments, in much the same way the Orlando Magic once did with Jonathan Isaac.
So perhaps not appearing in a series they were never going to win anyway can end up being the slice of salary cap good fortune required to build a winner.
The Suns also have to bring back Collin Gillespie (even if the Denver Nuggets never wanted to) and paying both guys and not falling into the first apron was always going to be difficult.
Only a lesser contract for Williams may be the key to ensuring this all works out, although it still would have been nice to see him get physical with Chet Holmgren throughout this series.
Williams has become the personification of the Suns' season as whole; exceeded expectations and got the fans onside before ending on a bum note because of a play-in fumble.
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